Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences / New Communications in the Arctic (Taimyr Case Study)

Full text (.pdf)
Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences. 2023 16 (12)
Authors
Kisser, Tatiana S.
Contact information
Kisser, Tatiana S.: Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the RAS Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation;
Keywords
indigenous peoples of Taimyr; cyberspeed; new communications; Internet; spill
Abstract

The article examines the effect of network communications, in particular cyberspeed, on the life of the indigenous population of Taimyr. Internet plays a dominant role in the general communications networks of the local population. In Taimyr, this innovation became an essential part of the traditional way of life and, moreover, it developed at a sweeping rate immediately embracing the most advanced technological communication platforms, including WhatsApp, and bypassing the older, less socially mobile ones. With new methods and forms of information exchange, the speed of its circulation has become incomparably higher. These changes inevitably caused a transformation of certain social institutions. Cyberspeed significantly exceeds the speed of the previous routine types of communication. A striking example of this was the speed of breaking news about the oil spill at Thermoelectric Plant‑3 near Norilsk. Most residents of Taimyr learned about the spill from the Internet almost in the first hours after the accident. This effect, as well as the constant monitoring of events, influenced the speed of decision‑making and the quality of decisions. While earlier the first to learn about the major incidents were the officials, the heads of a particular city, region, or country, in that case the first to know were the Internet users. On‑the‑spot photos and videos became so “viral” that even the top state officials also learned about the accident from the Internet. The “firing rate” of the chats in addition to igniting and intensifying emotions also helps in addressing the vital problems of the local population of Taimyr

Pages
2177–2192
EDN
AUUBXI
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/152381

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